Like so many people in attendance at the Wayne Valley at Wayne Hills boys basketball game, recent Valley graduate Jared See was transfixed by the epic battle being waged on the court Jan. 8.

During a timeout with 10 seconds left and the score tied, several people started tapping See on the shoulder and saying “Hey Jared, this is going to be just like last year.”

The comments were in reference to See’s game-winning put-back at Hills in the regular season last year. Mike McConeghey’s would-be, game-winning shot somehow rimmed in and out, but See slashed down the key to tip the ball in at the buzzer.

Amazingly, history did in fact repeat itself, just as See’s friends had predicted. Senior Mark Howell shot the potential game-winner with seconds to play. Just like McConeghey the year before, the shot appeared to be dead-on. But again, it rimmed in and out.

This time, senior Taylor Jackson slashed to the basket, grabbed the rebound and laid the ball in just before the buzzer sounded. The dramatics gave Valley (7-1) the win over previously undefeated Wayne Hills (7-1), 56-54.

“I saw Jared in the stands behind our bench,” Jackson said. “As we broke the huddle, I was thinking of his game-winning put-back last year. The plan was for Mark to take the shot. I just said to myself that I’m crashing the basket just in case he misses it.”

“I can’t believe it!” See said. “Of course, I thought they (Wayne Valley) could win this game, even when they were behind. But I never thought it would happen the same way it happened last year. It was at the same basket too! Taylor made a great play.”

Wayne Valley erased a 50-43, fourth-quarter deficit to win. The comeback featured several key foul shots, including two by Jackson.

“I was more nervous taking the foul shots,” Jackson said. “When you’re at the line you’re really thinking about it. On that last shot (the game winner) it was all instinct, so there wasn’t really enough time to be nervous.”

“It was really a carbon copy of last year,” said Wayne Valley coach Joe Leicht. “The only difference was there was 1.4 seconds when Jared made his shot. Jackson’s shot came with .2 seconds. We made our foul shots at the end. That was the key to this one.”